How To Listen To Your Inner Voice
Today, I'd like to share a short story with you.
Five years ago, my husband Jake was training for a triathlon. He had just purchased a new road bike and woke up one sunny Saturday morning to take it out for its first spin. As we were lying in bed, he looked at me and said, “I don’t have a good feeling about this; I hope something doesn’t happen.” I suggested if he had a bad feeling, maybe he shouldn’t go. He thought for a moment, his logical mind kicked in, and he replied, ”Of course I should go, it’s fine. I need to train. It will be okay.”
Fast forward two hours later when I got a call from an unknown number. I answered with trepidation, knowing exactly what this call was going to be. A man told me he had just found my husband in the middle of the road. He had an accident and the ambulance was on its way. He would stay with him until it was there. Turns out, he was lucky to have just broken his femur and hip. Jake knew that morning that something wasn’t right. But instead of trusting his intuition and listening to that inner voice, he went anyway. It happens to all of us.
You often hear people say, “Go with your gut”, “Trust your instincts”, “Follow your intuition” and “Listen to your inner voice.” That all sounds great, right? If only it were that easy. With all the external noise and internal conflict, how do we listen to our inner wisdom?
When you tune in to your inner voice, you make better and faster decisions, solve problems with greater ease, and live a more fulfilled and happy life. But HOW?
I’ve worked with many people over the course of my career and have learned that while this inner voice shows up in a variety of ways for each of us, we ALL have it.
In my latest article, just out today on Lifehack, I’ve outlined 9 strategies for how to identify and listen to your own inner voice. Check it out HERE!
If you can find that voice and truly listen, it can save you so much time, energy, angst….and perhaps even a broken hip along the way.
P.S. If you haven't already, please connect with me on Linked-In, Facebook, and Instagram
“If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
I’ve watched that saying prove true again and again over nearly 30 years of coaching and consulting. The capable people get tapped for everything.
Can you lead the presentation? Train the new hire? Fix the project? Join one more committee? Of course you can. You’re reliable, experienced and willing to step in.
But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
My latest Forbes article explores what I call the curse of competence: getting pulled into work because you’re good at it, not because it is the best use of your strengths, supports your growth or brings you joy.
If you feel like you’re the one carrying everything, I wrote this piece for you.
Inside, I share:
How to recognize when competence has quietly become obligation
The real cost to your energy, growth and joy
A simple YES filter to use before automatically agreeing
Graceful ways to say no, redirect an opportunity or make room on your plate
This isn’t about becoming less helpful or less generous. It’s about protecting your capacity for the work only you can do.
The goal isn’t to do less. It’s to stop giving your best work away so you can be brilliant at the work that fulfills you.